A key suspect in the Jan 30 murder of a wealthy Rong Kluea border market couple has surrendered to Crime Suppression Division police and claimed she was a scapegoat.
Maneerat Kothan, 65, a vendor at the market, was accompanied by lawyer Sittha Biabangkerd when she met Pol Maj Gen Maitri Chimcherd, commander of the CSD, on Tuesday.
Ms Maneerat was the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Sa Kaeo provincial court on April 9 for allegedly colluding in the double murder and harbouring the killers.
Pipat Tangpongthong, 71, and his wife Sayant Chantra, 65, were found dead at their home in tambon Khlong Hat on Jan 30, with their throats slashed.
As the investigation progressed, Ms Maneerat became a prime suspect.
On Tuesday, she denied any knowledge of the killing. She had reportedly fled to Laos before returning to surrender.
Ms Maneerat insisted she had been wrongly accused by the real mastermind and she had gone to Laos on business, not to flee as widely reported.
The vendor said she was shocked to learn from a younger sibling that a court warrant had been issued for her arrest since she had not been involved in the case. She insisted she had neither a personal nor business conflict with the slain couple.
She returned from Laos to fight for justice in the full confidence that she had no role in the murder. She questioned why she was even on the arrest warrant.
“Previously, I heard the word 'scapegoat’ [in criminal cases]. Now I understand how a scapegoat feels,’’ the 65-year-old suspect said.
She claimed the mastermind, whom she had known for seven years, had discussed with her a plan to borrow 1 million baht from the victims for use in an election campaign but said she would give a full account to police first.
She said she had helped the person campaign for a local-level election and had never dreamed she would be framed for murder.
During the discussion of the election campaign, the alleged mastermind had mentioned the couple and planned to kill them if necessary, Ms Maneerat said.
After the couple were killed, she had been contacted by that person and warned not to return to Thailand from Laos. She was told she faced charges in a political case and would be arrested by police or soldiers if she returned.
CSD police said they would hand her over to Khlong Hat police for legal processing.
